On May 4th, Jiangxi Isuzu mu-X Shepherd Ranger & “Chinese National Geographic” joint scientific research activity, the first stop of the second season of the Hengduan Mountains Four Parallel Rivers scientific research activity, came to a successful conclusion. After resting for a few days, I sorted out my thoughts and shared my feelings about this event with you.
The first thing to say is thank you.
During the 11-day scientific expedition covering more than 2,000 kilometers, Liu Xiaohan, a researcher and deputy director of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Li Xu, a well-known anthropologist and the initiator of the concept of the “Tea Horse Ancient Road”, gave professional guidance and support , took us to investigate the geography and geology of the Hengduan Mountains, and deciphered the disappearing ethnic cultures in the mountains and valleys.
There is also the powerful Jiangxi Isuzu mu-X Shepherd Ranger, as the designated vehicle for this scientific expedition, TA drove us from Shangri-La to Linzhi via the “Bingchacha” route, and escorted us all the way.
Secondly, let’s talk about the harvest of this activity. We crossed the four rivers of the Hengduan Mountains, walked into the enthusiastic villages of the Lisu people, searched for the tattooed women of the Dulong people who are about to disappear, experienced the thrilling Nu River zip line for the Nu people, and met the 56 other ethnic groups in China. Unidentified “Teng people”.
Don’t worry, listen to me one by one to satisfy your curiosity.
The “Three Parallel Rivers” with magnificent scenery is actually “Four Parallel Rivers”. Besides the Jinsha River, Lancang River and Nujiang River, there is also a Dulong River. Our mu-X animal husbandry and ranger teamed up with China National Geographic Scientific Research The team is the first large-scale convoy to enter the area, and it can be regarded as “eating a crab”.
First of all, we entered the village of the Lisu people. We inspected the folk customs, clothing characteristics and architectural forms of the Lisu people. The enthusiastic Lisu people welcomed us with home-brewed wine and special dances. joy.
The Dulong people live on the banks of the Dulong River. The geographical environment here is closed and the resources are scarce. Before the construction of the tunnels and roads in the past two years, it has been in a primitive society of slash-and-burn farming for thousands of years. It is here that we see the mysterious tattoos. Female.
It is said that a century ago, in order to resist the looting of the powerful clan forces in the Tibetan area, women in the upper and middle reaches of the Dulong River used plant bamboo knots to form patterns of various shapes such as crows and butterflies on their faces in order to protect themselves from being kidnapped. The water is mixed and dipped in water to fix the scab on the pattern, and the time for the pattern to form is about a week. In this way, a unique custom of facial tattooing was formed, which did not stop until the 1970s. We conducted in-depth exchanges with a total of 15 local women with facial tattoos of the last Dulong ethnic group, took photos and recorded their living conditions, hoping to leave precious historical materials for the investigation of ethnic minority culture.
The most thrilling thing is to experience the “zip rope” of the Nu people. Looking at a thin steel cable hanging in mid-air connecting the two banks of the Nu River, a string of hemp rope, an iron pulley and a handful of wormwood, the angry river is below, just looking at it makes the palms sweat, but we are still in the local With the help of my friend, I went to battle and experienced it, and now I can’t help shaking when I think about it.
Nowadays, with the accelerated pace of development, ziplines known as “living fossils” are very rare, but this Spiderman-like flying method makes people feel the amazing courage and extraordinary wisdom of the local Nu and Lisu people. .
In order to explore ethnic groups other than ethnic groups, we entered Tibet from Bingchacha, and this journey was simply too cruel.
Narrow and curved dirt roads with shell craters, the slightest turbulence may cause landslides and debris flow geological hazards; three snow-capped mountains with an altitude of more than 4,500 meters in Qimala Mountain, Jinla Mountain and Zhela Mountain, with deep valleys and ravines coexisting, the road conditions are extremely dangerous ; There is also a complex climate, due to the double influence of the dry and hot valley thermal airflow of the Nujiang River and the cold airflow of the Mukong Snow Mountain, the climate of this narrow valley changes frequently, making this journey extremely difficult.
Either I say I really want to thank mu-X Shepherd Ranger. On such a road section and altitude, equipped with 1.9TRZ4E and 3.0T4JJ1 Isuzu turbocharged diesel engines, there is nothing to say about the power; there is also a part-time four-wheel drive equipped with a rear axle differential lock, we can easily switch between two four-wheel drive driving according to road conditions The mode is effective to get out of trouble; the non-load-bearing body with the girder has greatly filtered the degree of bumps, which has relieved us a lot of physical and mental suffering; more importantly, the battery life is very strong. There is only a state-owned gas station in Zayu County, and Muyouxia can run 700 kilometers on average with a tank of fuel, which saves us a lot of worries.
After going through untold hardships, I finally arrived at Zayu, one of the important border counties in the Tibet Autonomous Region. I met “Teng people” who have not been identified outside of our 56 ethnic groups. There are more than 1,300 Teng people living in Zayu. Has its own language, but no writing. Polygamy is practiced, and the Teng people still maintain the tribal system today.
During the exchange, we learned a lot about the unique customs of the Teng people. The older generation of Teng people believe that the bigger the pierced ears, the more noble their status is, and many old women like to wear huge tremella drums. But now young people have abandoned this kind of aesthetics, and the custom of “big ear piercing” of the Teng people will become history with the departure of the old people. We also quickly record this unique culture that may soon disappear.
Finally, what I want to say is that there are too many feelings and too many gains, it is actually difficult to express clearly in this post.
In short, I would like to thank Jiangxi Isuzu mu-X for the companionship and support, and pay tribute to the spirit of the scientific expedition partners who are not afraid of hardships and dangers and explore the unknown. Of course, I am looking forward to the next second station of the Himalayas crossing the scientific expedition, looking for the remains of the existing civilization of the Tangzhu Ancient Road, the remains of the ancient village of the Aya people and their descendants, climbing the extreme level together on the wheels, and exploring human history. Understand the civilization of the world!
